Could my chicken have Egg Yolk Peritonitis?

[MotherofChickensUK]

Hi again, I posted last week, our Blacktail chicken had 1 eye closed, we've been cleaning it with saline (and I'm waiting for some eye drops arriving), she's lethargic, not eating or drinking (we're syringing water, and water with poultry tonic and poultry nutri drops into her, she gulps/swallows that), her poop is Black and Bright Yellow, I've attached a picture taken yesterday, it's still yellow today, (sorry it's not pleasant), I'm concerned incase she has Egg Yolk peritonitis, I spoke with our vet but they did not have any appointments for 2 weeks, I'm thinking of trying another vets, but before I do that, I wanted to ask if you think I'm being over caucious, is the bright yellow stuff in her poop a natural process, or should we be concerned? The picture of me holding her was when we first noticed her eye was shut last week, but the second picture of her eye I've just taken today, she looks terrible now, I am really concerned about her.

 

[Chicalina]

can you get some antibiotics from an online vet?

 

[MotherofChickensUK]

Thank You, I've just signed up to JustAnswer, hoping they maybe able to help and hopefully prescribe something

 

[MotherofChickensUK]

I'm not sure how genuine the JustAnswer site is... if anyone has any recommendations for UK websites to try for online prescriptions I'd be very grateful.

 

[MotherofChickensUK]

Just answer advised:-

I am very sorry to hear that your chicken Nando isn't feeling well. As I am sure you know, birds can really deteriorate quite quickly and Nando does sound very poorly. I know you have contacted your vet but I would recommend phoning them again so that you can explain how urgent this situation is and that she needs seen today. If they are still not able to see her you may want to phone around some other vets and try to find an avian vet as they will recognise that this is quite urgent. There is lots of different things which can cause lethargy as well as eye problems, such as infections with mycoplasma, infectious coryza, etc. Black faeces is concerning as this can suggest gastrointestinal bleeding, which can be due to parasites such as coccidia. Egg yolk peritonitis is very common in chickens also and usually causes a swelling of the abdomen and lethargy and anorexia. Unfortunately I do not believe any over the counter treatments or home remedies will be effective in this case and I would advise it is important to have her seen ASAP. She likely will require antibiotics, and may require supportive feeding, intravenous fluids, etc.

 

[Chicalina]

here is a list of defra approved online veterinary retailers

https://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/InternetRetailers/accredited-retailers.aspx

 

[Chicalina]

If you cannot get her seen by a vet then treat for likely candidate infections. You may be able to get a prescription online by listing the symptoms.

 

[MotherofChickensUK]

Unfortunately no vets were able to help, thank you for those links, I’ll check them. I’ve read a lot and keep coming back to egg yolk peritonitis, or Blackhead, we have 9 other birds, all seem ok so far. I’ll also check her crop, but the bright yellow diarrhoea does seem concerning. I’ve got her in a dog crate away from the others, and we have another part of the garden that is fenced off from the chickens, that she can free range in.

 

[MotherofChickensUK]

I’ve tried massaging her crop this morning (what feels like her crop, to the right of her breast) and some air came up, so I’ve given her a little olive oil and massaged again, some more air came up, her closed eye is now half open and she seems a little brighter, she got quite vocal and tried to jump out of my arms, where as previously she was very lethargic, I’m still not sure about the bright yellow diarrhoea, someone mentioned giving a calcium tablet rather than antibiotics, as if there is a ruptured egg that may help shift it, and antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the gut which would help her shift a potentially ruptured egg.

 

[Chicalina]

Good bacteria help with digestion, not reproductive issues. Peritonitis is a nasty internal infection and often fatal if not treated.

If you think she has peritonitis, you mustn't delay getting antibiotics into her.

Does she feel hot? Is her comb very red and her skin flushed? Can you feel hot spots on her abdomen when you hold her?